by Nicole Morris
Publisher: Big Sky Publishing, 2024
Publisher’s blurb
Missing … without a trace … into thin air.
In Missing, Nicole Morris, best-selling author of Vanished and founder of the Australian Missing Persons Register, delves into the chilling world of long-term missing persons cases. With over 55,000 disappearances annually in Australia, each story is a heart-wrenching account of unanswered questions and shattered lives.
From a West Australian man entangled in the dangers of online dating to an Adelaide father possibly linked to Australia’s most notorious serial killings, Morris uncovers haunting tales of those who vanished without a trace. Three mothers leaving behind bewildered children, a young hitchhiker lost on a desolate Queensland highway, and two Sydney men who lost their way—all woven into the fabric of inexplicable disappearances.
The narrative spans decades, from the 1980s to present-day mysteries, including the puzzling case of a gentle Greenpeace worker vanishing amidst inner-city Melbourne, the suspicious disappearance of a 21-year-old, and the grim discovery of scattered remains in Queensland, unravelling a harrowing tale of violence and tragedy. And then there is the perplexing case of a man who went missing over and over again.
Missing sheds light on the untold stories of those who vanished, leaving behind a void of unanswered questions and enduring pain. Nicole Morris brings attention to the cold cases from families of missing persons, raising awareness, and hopefully uncovering new leads for desperate families searching for the truth
Review
by Deb Bodinnar
Every week we hear that someone is reported missing. In fact 55,000 people are reported missing in Australia each year. Most will return home or let someone know where they are, or a body is found, but 2,600 of them will remain missing after three months. I personally believe, for a family member or loved one, the last scenario would be the hardest to deal with. Reading the stories of these missing people has made that sit even deeper in my gut. The anguish of not knowing must be devastating.
I had never really considered what those families go through when their loved one disappears. I always thought the police would take a report and get onto investigating straight away, but that appears to not necessarily happen.
In 1982, Tony Jones was a young man travelling around Queensland. He arranged meet up with his brother, Tim, in Mt Isa. Tim was also on the road, and he headed towards Mt Isa to meet up with Tony. But Tony didn’t show, and 42 years later he still hasn’t been seen. He was a diligent son and boyfriend who regularly called his parents and girlfriend, and he’d promised to be home in WA before Christmas. His Mum put $150 in his bank account as Tony was down to his last dollars but that money was never touched. His family made endless trips to Townsville from Perth. They searched relentlessly, unearthed new information – evidence the police didn’t mention – and did everything humanly possible to find him. More than four decades later there is no trace of him.
It struck me over and over while reading this book was that when an adult is reported missing police often don’t seem to take it seriously. Like 53-year-old Rigby Fielding. “Oh, he’s 53, he can go missing”. Irrespective of age, race or sexual orientation every missing person should all be dealt with equal importance and dignity.
Police will tell you it isn’t a crime to go missing. They talk about how they have an “instinct” for the serious ones, in other words the ones that may have met with foul play. I wonder though. Look what happens when the media or general community get involved in trying to find a missing person – police are all over it then. But Nicole Morris hasn’t written about those people whose names we likely know, her focus is on the forgotten ones.
Hopefully, there are people profiled in Nicole’s book who may still be out there. Maybe they’ll read it, or one of their friends or workmates will and recognize them. Or perhaps someone will have their memories, or their consciences jogged and will come forward to police. This is the purpose and hope of Missing, and the previous book, Vanished: to prompt memories and get the public talking about these cases to find the answers for families.
There are many good reasons to pick up this book. The author, Nicole Morris, is an amazing woman who runs the Australian Missing Persons Facebook page, and she is passionate in her campaign to find answers for families and friends who are haunted by something they don’t understand. The stories in this book are heartbreaking, and sometimes difficult to read. But we can’t look away: imagine if it was someone you knew.